Chris Pratt Lands GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY Lead
 

Chris Pratt Lands GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY Lead

After countless shortlist stories and rumors concerning who would play Star-Lord in Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, the search for the lead role is finally over, and fittingly the actor is someone who never appeared on any of the aforementioned lists. Deadline reports that Chris Pratt has been tapped to play Peter Quill, aka Star-Lord, a character who was born of a human mother and alien father, and is a master strategist and combat expert who wears an ability-enhancing suit and pilots a psychically-linked ship. As Guardians features a cast of strange and cosmic characters, Quill was an important role to fill because he will likely act as the audience’s introduction to the vast, unfamiliar Guardians world. Hit the jump for more.

There were plenty of actors rumored for the role that made a lot of sense (John Krasinski, Zachary Levi, etc.), and Deadline notes that Marvel made test deals with Joel Edgerton, Jack Huston, Lee Pace, and Eddie Redmayne, but Chris Pratt actually seems like a perfect fit. His comic timing is excellent as evidenced by his work on NBC’s Parks and Recreation, and he’s shown his talent on the dramatic side with Moneyball and 2012’s Zero Dark Thirty, for which he also proved that he can beef up for a role if need-be.

Looking back on the previous shortlists and taking Pratt into consideration, it’s clear that writer/director James Gunn is planning on injecting a good amount of humor into Guardians of the Galaxy. A rumor surfaced recently that Marvel was looking at possibly tapping Jim Carrey or Adam Sandler to do voice work in the film (one of the guardians is a talking raccoon), so I’m interested to see the tone that Gunn settles on for the finished film.

With the role of Star-Lord secure, Gunn and Marvel now look to filling out the rest of the cast, which includes the powerful Drax the Destroyer, a giant tree named Groot, the aforementioned Rocket Raccoon, and the female lead Gamora. The story is also rumored to involve the villain Thanos. Expect to hear more soon as production gears up to begin later this year. Guardians of the Galaxy will be released in 3D on August 1, 2014.

Is this a real thing?

Very real.

Hmm, never heard of this. Sounds like a chinese knock off version of other super heroes~

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Is this the writer/director who was married to Jenna Fischer?

This dude is HILARIOUS in Parks and Rec. I must really need to see Zero Dark Thirty though; nothing from him in P&R would let me know he'd do well in a serious role.

He's married to Anna Faris

The Guardians made a recent appearance in the comic book "Avengers Assemble" where the Avengers fought Thanos in deep space. They are not widely known but are interesting characters. They are almost like Marvel's version of the Green Lanterns, as they are protectors of the universe.

They were also in an episode of "The Avengers" cartoon last year. I don't know a lot about them outside of that, but the talking tree and cockney raccoon were funny. It'll be interesting to see how Marvel tries to pull them off in live action.

This is why I used the past tense form of "to be." Was.

The popularity of Lord of the Rings might help with the walking/talking tree, but damn, selling people on a Space Raccoon as anything other than cheesy is going to be tough.

Rocket Raccoon rules.

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Especially when you consider that Adam Sandler has been rumored to voice it...

Wow, just wow...

Jenna Fischer was never married to Chris Pratt.

James Gunn - writer/ director - married to Pam Beasly

Edit - past tense - was married

So...Rocket Racoon is the comic book version of Starfox without his plane.

SFX 233 Preview: Marvel Boss On Phase 2
The ever-enthusiastic guiding light behind Marvel’s movie universe, Kevin Feige, speaks to SFX about Marvel Phase 2 in SFX #233, available to buy from Wednesday 6 March. We’re not going to give away all the juicy exclusives on-site, but here’s a couple of extracts to be going along with…

Producton art......interesting....i know nothing about these characters other than i saw them once with my son watching the Avengers show on Disney.

FTR

Chris Pratt is the actor who plays Andy Dwyer on Parks and Recreation, and has been tapped to play the lead in this movie. He married Anna Faris. Has been since July 2009 and remains to present. One child.

James Gunn is the director of this movie. He came from St. Louis, as did Jenna Fischer. They were married 2000-2008, and have divorced amicably. Not to confuse this further, but his brother Sean was townie character Kirk on Gilmore Girls.

Who was the guy whose voice could destroy the world/universe and what group was he a part of? And what comic book company was he made from?

Gamora and Drax will be seen again after this movie...And Thanos, of course, if he's in it.
The rest will never be seen or heard from again.

I like Chris Pratt. He was great in Five-year Engagement too. Also, Everwood was a good show.

I'll bet anything they are going to show Thanos going after one or more of the Infinity Gems in this movie.
I haven't bought a comic since I was 12, but the thought of Thanos+IGs vs. The Universe makes me JIMP.
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Perhaps you're thinking of the Marvel character Black Bolt? His voice can destroy a city.

I'm not familiar with a character whose voice can destroy the world or universe.

Yeah, Black Bolt is probably who you're thinking of. I don't think he could destroy the universe but, at his strongest point, maybe a planet. He's a part of the Inhumans, I believe.

It's a hard story to tell without the Surfer in it. I don't remember if the FF movie character rights are impossible to get for supporting characters or cameo's...

Neat little fan vid someone put together that kind of shows Black Bolt's power. Just a whisper and there's huge destruction...

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As others already said his names Black Bolt leader of the Inhumans.
He also led a small group of Inhumans who were part of his royal family.
This team ventured out of their safe home to help the FF or avengers at times of need.
The smallest whisper from Black bolts lips could take down a mountain.


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WOW. Seriously guys :whackit::whackit::whackit::whackit::whackit::whackit::whackit::whackit::whackit::whackit: I don't have enough hands! Thank you for that. It was the Inhumans I was thinking of. That would be a much better movie to make than a powerful raccoon. My dad liked them too. Black Bolt sounds awesome. Does Black Canary hold a candle to him? Or is she his daughter or something? This is so interesting! :thumb::thumb:

Black Bolt = Marvel Universe
Black Canary = DC Universe

In other words, they are of no relation.

Yup. What was done with the SS, who should have been HUGE now that they are going cosmic, is Marvel's biggest blunder so far. Hopefully they can get it straightened out, but when?
IG is gonna happen. There is no way around it now. It may be 2018, but it's gonna happen.

Maybe they'll just reboot the Surfer with some after credit scene in the Guardians movie, showing him and Galactus ala Thanos in the Avengers.

I'm pretty sure Fox still has the Silver Surfer. There was a rumor they were trying to get Surfer and Galactus back in exchange for letting Fox keep Daredevil, but it didn't go through (consequently Marvel has Daredevil back now).

They should lose the rights to the Surfer on principle alone. It's obvious they have no idea who the character is or what to do with him. That goes for Galactus, as well. Assholes.

Maybe Disney/Marvel will grow some balls and use the Frank Miller continuity.

Yuck.

They've already gone way too "Ultimates" for my tastes anyway...

Will John C. Reilly join the Marvel Universe for 'Guardians Of The Galaxy'?

James Gunn's "Guardians Of The Galaxy" promises to be one of the strangest of the Marvel movies so far, and that excites me.

Drew Pearce, who collaborated with Shane Black on the "Iron Man 3" script, was almost hired to work on the final polish for this film, but it looks like Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely will be doing the final polish on the script that Nicole Perlman and Chris McCoy wrote instead.

Quick side note… is Perlman the first female writer on a Marvel movie?

In a lot of ways, Marvel is treating "Guardians" as the beachhead for a new chapter of the universe, and they're seeding the film with archetypes that have worked well for them. Chris Pratt is onboard as Star-Lord, who is also known as Peter Quill, and they're looking to him to be the Robert Downey Jr. of this franchise. Fast, funny, able to play emotional while still getting big laughs.

Everyone in this film has a connection of some sort to Thanos, which is by design. Zoe Saldana (who apparently is not fully committed to the film yet) plays Gamora, whose entire race was wiped out by Thanos when she was just an infant. Thanos actually raised her, planning to make her a weapon when she got old enough, and she learned of his plans, leading her to run away. She has superhuman strength and speed, and she's been trained to be a master of all fighting arts, especially involving blades, something Thanos hoped to use for himself.

Drax, who will be played by Dave Batista in the film, actually started life as a saxophone player named Art. I'll give you a moment to bask in the possibility that we're going to see a flashback to Dave Batista playing sax. He was killed by Thanos in the Mojave Desert, where his "astral form" was later found by Kronos, who was trying to stop Thanos. He used this astral form to create a superhuman warrior named Drax, who can fly and who is practically invulnerable. He can fire cosmic blasts as well.

When we meet Rocket Raccoon in the film, he and his partner Wal Russ (a talking walrus) are guards at The Keystone Quadrant, an intergalactic asylum for the criminally insane. Again, I'll give you a moment. Soak that one in.

Reading this so far, you might suspect that Thanos is the main bad guy in the film, but it doesn't seem to be the case. Yondu, played by Michael Rooker, is this film's bad guy, a space pirate of sorts, and at least at the start of the film, Lee Pace will also be playing a villain who will eventually switch sides so he can be set up for his own spin-off film as… someone? Could he be Nova? Adam Warlock? Mar-Vell, which would allow Marvel to then introduce Ms. Marvel to their cinematic staple?

By far, though, the biggest news that's brewing about "Guardians" right now involves a character named Rhomann Dey. They've made an offer to John C. Reilly to play the part, and if he comes aboard, it's a big commitment. Basically, he's been designed as the Agent Coulson of the "Guardians" movies. He's the human agent who serves as a go-between, keeping the Guardians in line and reporting to SHIELD about their activities.
What's that you say? Rhomann Dey was the leader of the Nova Corps in the comics and not a human being on Earth? And he basically became the Abin Sur of the Marvel Universe when he picked Richard Rider to give his Nova powers to?

Hmmmmm. Very, very interesting.

There's a hint that we'll see some other familiar faces. Groot, for example, originally comes to Earth looking to experiment on humans, but Nick Fury talks him out of his and convinces him to help us instead. But Dey is going to be the primary face of normal humanity for the "Guardians" films, and Reilly would be an intriguing addition to the Marvel Universe. He's got the exact right demeanor for a movie featuring talking trees, weapon-bearing raccoons and walruses, and lots of drop-ins from outer space. He'll have a peer, someone who is their liaison for the Guardians, and Marvel is looking at names as disparate as Hugh Laurie, Alan Rickman, and Ken Watanabe for that part.

What do you think? Sounds like "Guardians" is shaping up as a big, sprawling, vibrant new corner of one of the biggest cinematic universes around, and I'm crossing my fingers that Reilly makes his deal.

Hope we get an Iron Man appearance.

Just read the first two issues where he shows up last night.

My thoughts on this one reflect my pre-production thoughts on Green Lantern: comic fanboys will eat it up but it'll be too far out there for regular joe moviegoer. It's ballsy, though.

These guys actually show up in Earths Mighiest Heros season 2 episode 5. My son and I watched it last night.

tonight the series "reboot" is on at 8pm on XD

Yeah, I remember that ep from earlier in the year.

I downloaded the new pilot on itunes but never watched it. The general reaction seems to be it's more kid oriented than the previous series. Which is fine, that's the network's target demo. I don't know if I'll watch or not.

Thanks. I'll have to set the DVR for tonight.

Bad year for young adult cartoons, everything's being targetted for young kids now. After Young Justice got canned, I tried to watch the new Teen Titans one, but it's just awful. Tron Uprising bombed, YJ got cancelled, Clone Wars got cancelled. :(

Glenn Close Is Head Cop In Marvel’s ‘Guardians Of The Galaxy’

EXCLUSIVE: Here is a big one for Marvel fans. I’m told that Marvel Studios is setting Glenn Close to a major role in its newest franchise creation, Guardians Of The Galaxy. They’re always circumspect at Marvel, but I’m told that Close is playing a leadership role in Nova Corp, the intergalactic space patrol. The James Gunn-directed Guardians Of The Galaxy starts production in about a month, with a cast that includes Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Lee Pace, Michael Rooker, John C. Reilly and others. I believe Close’s role would be the closest thing to the one that Samuel L. Jackson plays in Marvel’s Avengers movie. Having seen Close’s work in Damages, and going back to Fatal Attraction and The World According To Garp, she certainly has a hard side to her.

Honestly...sounds kind of dumb.

'Doctor Who' Star Joins Marvel's 'Guardians of the Galaxy'
Karen Gillan is boarding a cast that already includes Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana and Glenn Close.

Karen Gillan, who starred as Doctor Who’s companion for several seasons on the hit BBC show, is joining the cast of Marvel Studios’ Guardians of the Galaxy.

The movie is in casting mode, with Glenn Close joining the roll call earlier this week. Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana and Dave Bautista lead the cast of Marvel's space adventure movie, which has Lee Pace and Michael Rooker as villains.

Details for Gillan's role were not revealed, although it is known she will play the film’s lead female villain.

The Scottish actress played companion Amy Pond in Doctor Who's fifth through the recently ended seventh series. The character was hugely popular and appeared in Doctor Who books, apps and video games. Gillan has several indies in the can, including Oculus, a horror flick with Katee Sackhoff.
She is repped by UTA and Michael Duff at the U.K.’s Troika Talent.

i didn't realize YJ got canceled. shit, that sucks. it was actually very well written. didn't care for batman's voice, no one come close to kevin conroy.

cartoon network always cans the good ones too soon.

Benicio Del Toro Takes Lead Role In Marvel’s ‘Guardians Of The Galaxy’

EXCLUSIVE: Benicio Del Toro has joined the killer cast of the James Gunn-directed Marvel Studios franchise launcher Guardians Of The Galaxy. They are keeping his role under wraps, but he’s playing a character that is built to be part of future Marvel films, which means he has signed a deal with options that put him into multiple movies. It’s funny how when Marvel Studios first started making option-heavy deals, actors and their agents grumbled loudly. But guys like Samuel L. Jackson and Mark Ruffalo have done great stuff in short doses in incredibly high-profile films. Now, it will be intriguing to see what the company does with a property that doesn’t have the road-tested brand awareness of a Captain America, Thor, or Iron Man. I have to say that given the high bar for quality that Marvel has set under Kevin Feige — Iron Man 3 being the latest crowd-pleasing example — I’m more excited about this than the other space-based project Disney is banking on, Star Wars. Del Toro joins Glenn Close, Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Lee Pace, Michael Rooker, John C. Reilly and others in the cast.

Del Toro most recently joined the cast of Paul Thomas Anderson’s Inherent Vice. He’ll next be seen in Jimmy P, the film that made its world premiere in competition at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival. He’s also got the untitled film directed by Terrence Malick. Del Toro is represented by CAA and Rick Yorn.

Del Toro=Thanos?

Dave Bautista to play Drax the Destroyer.
Michael Rooker (Merle) from walking dead also cast.
The more I read about this movie the more it actually looks like it is going to be Bad Ass.

I just started reading through Volume 2 of the Guardians comics (from 2008) and it's pretty damn good. It is extremely cosmic-y and tough to follow at times but overall very good. It is definitely more adult than many comics and can be really funny at times.

I am interested who will voice Rocket Raccoon. People throw around Jason Statham and that would work for me but who knows. At first I was skeptical about Rocket but after reading a number of the comics, he is hilarious. He is a drunk smartass that carries lots of big guns.

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Bradley Cooper in Talks to Voice Rocket Raccoon in Marvel's 'Guardians of the Galaxy'

Marvel Studios is in talks with Bradley Cooper and Elizabeth Olsen to join the casts of two of its movies, sources confirm to The Hollywood Reporter.

Marvel is in early talks with Cooper for the actor to voice Rocket Raccoon in Guardians of the Galaxy, its sci-fi adventure movie. And the company is in negotiations with Olsen to play the Scarlet Witch in The Avengers: The Age of Ultron, the sequel to the billion-dollar-grossing 2012 movie, multiple sources tell Heat Vision.

Sources familiar with the deals say that Olsen's dealmaking is further along than Cooper's, which is just beginning. Bleeding Cool first reported Olsen's negotiations. Latino Review first reported Cooper's offer.
Marvel had no comment.

Marvel is already in production on Galaxy in London with a cast that includes Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana and Dave Bautista as space-spanning adventurers.
Also among the Guardians are Groot, a giant tree-man, and Rocket Raccoon, a genetically engineered procyonid with a knack for guns and explosives. Both characters will be CGI creations, and Raccoon has already proven himself to be a favorite among the fanboy crowd. (Vin Diesel is in talks to voice Groot.)
James Gunn is directing the movie, which has a Aug. 1, 2014, release date.

Indie darling Olsen, meanwhile, would be one of the few new additions to the Avengers sequel, playing one of Marvel's top female characters. The Scarlet Witch, who is usually adorned with a cape and pointy headgear, has the power to affect certain outcomes by altering probabilities. Her powers have also sometimes included the ability to reshape reality. (On the costume front, director Joss Whedon has already said in interviews that the red tights won't be segueing from page to screen.)

The character's backstory is interesting, as she and her brother, the mutant speedster known as Quicksilver, began publishing life as villains and are the offspring of iconic villain Magneto. The two eventually became integral part of the Avengers, with the Witch marrying an android created by Ultron known as The Vision.

Magneto is an X-Men villain and, due to rights deals, can only appear in Fox's X-Men movies. Quicksilver, however, will be appearing in both Avengers 2 as well as X-Men: Days of Future Past, currently in production in Montreal.
Cooper, repped by CAA, next stars in David O. Russell's American Hustle, which opens Christmas Day.

Olsen, repped by Gersh, has up until now been known for her indie work such as Martha Marcy May Marlene. She has slowly transitioned into tentpole fare and recently wrapped shooting on Legendary's upcoming Godzilla movie.

What was the article where someone very important in all of this was asked if Spiderman would become part of the Marvel/Avengers universe, and they said: Think Bigger

Michael Rooker(Merle from Walking Dead) will play Yondu.. which is the first I've heard that character mentioned. Did I just miss that?

Lacking the giant red mohawk though. WTF? Blasphemy. That better be digitally applied...

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We now have Vin Diesel and Groot and Bradley Cooper as Rocket Raccoon. I would rather have a seasoned British voice actor do Rocket but we will see what happens.

Also, James Gunn said they are already over halfway through shooting. It's only been a couple months so they are flying through it.

It's an ambitious overall story based on the characters involved. Outside of the Guardians, you have the Nova Corps and the multiple villains of Ronan the Accuser, Nebula and Thanos in the background. Also, the Collector fits somewhere in there.

First look. Full trailer tonight (premieres during Jimmy Kimmel Live on ABC).

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Looks interesting. Definitely sort of a light hearted trailer. Didn't like the choice of music, but I guess that's the tone they wanted.
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So far looks much better than I figured it would be...

lol jesus, a Guardians of the Galaxies movie. That's like what.. DC doing a Seven Soldiers of Victory movie? ROFL

Based on what I've seen so far, I expect Guardians to be better than DC's Justice League movie.

Not to piss on those who might be entertained... but any superhero flick featuring a raccoon is just not gonna earn my money.

I'm usually just as big a sucker for hero's as anyone, but a coon? c'mon.

Hahahaha!

Maybe just me, but I loved the trailer. Looks like a fun movie.

Collector sighting @ 1:59.

Looks more like Pratt is the lead based on the trailer?

All of this.

Don't sell yourself short. Rocket Raccoon might end up being one of the best parts of the movie.

I will say this - This movie is going to attract mainly the comic book nerds first, then the people who enjoyed the Avengers. Looks like a fun way to spend a couple of hours to me.

Pratt is the lead, but Rocket is clearly there to be the breakout character, the Han Solo to Pratt's Luke.

That just wasn't a well-made trailer; they took too much time try to teach people who the characters were rather than just show them doing their things. Hopefully the movie won't be as uneven and wooden, and hopefully the whole movie isn't in that dingy prison.

I honestly haven't even watched a trailer, all I needed to see to dissuade me is a picture with a ****ing raccoon walking in the lead.

If you guys have fun with it, God bless... but this isn't for me.

Did you like Avengers? And if you did, did you stay through the credits to get a glimpse of the baddie behind the scenes? If so, then this movie will tie directly into that forming storyline.

The trailer is only a few posts back and you can't even be bothered to watch a few seconds? Well here's to you then! ;)

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Barret, thanks for the gif. I have a feeling I'll be using it a lot!

LOVED that movie, one of the best ever IMO, don't remember hanging out through the credits though.

Are you saying the raccoon ties into the Avengers?

It has a RACCOON, dude... couldn't be made to care :shrug:

No. Rocket Raccoon and the Guardians tie in to THIS guy....

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who, in the Marvel Universe, is the number one baddie out there. Complete evil bad ass that ended up being the one behind the alien attack on Earth that brought the Avengers together.

Love those visuals, still not sure if Guardians is for me though, but again, not trying to harsh on anyone who's diggin it.

I'm kindve a comic nerd, ive never heard of guardians of the galaxy

That's what I meant by this:

ROFL

LMAO

That said this looks like it might be a fun movie....but i have to google what the hell this is about